Kiaran Finn on Life Matters!

Have you ever met a an ambivalent success story? Have you ever admired someone or aspired to to achieve their state of nonchalance? The polar opposite of indifference is obsession. Is this a more favorable disposition? if someone described you as pathologically compulsive, would you feel flattered? Somewhere between these two states lies our default zone, and as a direct consequence, our capacity to shape our destiny. Ambivalent people are mostly bit players, and extras in the comedy of life. Life indeed, is something that happens to them, rather than something they direct. Motivation is the fuel that allows one person to run through a brick wall in the pursuit of a goal, indifference provides barely enough fuel to get out of bed. On the continuum of emotions from indifference up to obsession there are a myriad of complex stimulators and inhibitors that aid or hinder our quests. The problem with obsession is that the narrow focus and lack of peripheral insight repels rath...

It has become popular in recent years to blend the intellectually unfathomable concepts of quantum physics with pop-psychology precepts such as The Law of Attraction. Can science prove the theories of the philosophers who since time immemorial have built huge and loyal adherents espousing this seemingly mystical observation? How would you explain the science of Quantum Physics to a 6 year old? It’s like explaining that the world of Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is the real world and that we live in a parallel world where nothing makes sense. If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t Quantum Physics examines matter and energy at an infinitesimally small size, and at this particle level, all the Newtonian Laws of science appear to break down. Even Einstein needed some convincing to accept the empirical evidence. The essence of this phenomenon is that it confronts our certainties. I...

From time immemorial our elders have preached the merits of working long and hard to succeed. The motto that hard work equates to success is a rational concept, yet upon closer analysis, the empirical evidence doesn’t actually stack up. Over a 100 years ago an Italian Economist Vilfredo Pareto produced some counter intuitive evidence that seemed to suggest that 80% of Europe’s wealth was controlled by 20% of the population, and this pattern of skewed effort and reward manifested itself in all manner of societal observation. 80% of Crime appeared to be committed by 20% of criminals. 80% of carpet receives 20% of the wear! 20% of Insurance Sales Reps earn 80% of total commissions. You get the point. Richard Koch examines Pareto’s Principle from both an economics and business management perspective and is unequivocal in his endorsement and the lessons and advantages that can be gleaned from acting in accordance. Unlike many authors who talk the talk but often fail in the wa...

Philosophers from all walks of life have burned out innumerable brain cells pondering over the riddle; ‘what is the meaning of Life?’ Since the dawn of civilization emperors kings and queens have built ingenious structures from the blood sweat and tears of their minions in the hope of gleaning some insight into the mystery of our existence. In a modern day society of empowered freethinking individualism, we have greater reign to express our individuality and posit our beliefs to the teeming masses that jostle and compete for recognition, than ever. In order to navigate through life without a brain explosion, it is simpler to reduce our search for meaning into basic scripts and metaphors. Body adornment, including piercings, tattoos and painted faces, have been a symbol of self-expression since we vacated the trees and set forth on two legs chasing some answers. There is some irony in the fact that consumerism has helped reduce our Individuality to the bland slogans of ou...